th_australia @ Deleted Deleted

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a_player @ August 10 2004, 13:11:01 UTC

Hi! Thanks! I laughed the whole time I made it.

Thank you very much for the compliment. I really didn't think about evolving Hermione's character, per se - I mostly thought about trying my best to do her justice and capture her voice. I really enjoy Hermione as a character and I have fun writing her, and that includes all of her flaws. Toward the end of NA, Hermione was happy with Ernie, was friends with Ron again, and feeling much more like she had a place, so I think that's why she was spunkier then.

th_australia @ Deleted Deleted

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a_player @ August 10 2004, 13:33:50 UTC

Hermione considered lots of vocations while I played her. She always seemed to be considering something new. She was so passionate about S.P.E.W. (and so was I; I remain completely certain that Hermione is in the right and am blind to perfectly valid arguments against her) that she wanted to go into activism, and she also wanted to go into the Ministry to work in Muggle Relations. She had it in her head that she could help banish some of the lingering prejudice against Muggle-borns somehow. Ernie and his brother also made her consider becoming an Unspeakable.

I think Hermione is the type to really relish in a job of almost any type, so I think she would have been happy doing both of those things. However, she's also got a fighter in her and seriously thought of becoming an Auror in the last few weeks of the game. She seemed to realise that she could go on and do almost anything she wanted. Had the game gone on, I think she would have chosen to become an Unspeakable or an Auror.

tabiji @ August 10 2004, 13:02:04 UTC

Hello Hermione's player!

Can you elaborate at all on how/why Hermione and Ron split up? At the Wedding, (under Veritaserum) Hermione said "I love you" to him, and Ron sorta squirmed, but he still seemed like he was interested in her. I never could figure out what happened with them!

PS: Thank you for doing this. <3 I miss you all terribly.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 13:25:05 UTC

Hello!

I'll do my best to explain without embarrassing my inner Hermione. I loved Ron/Hermione, and so did Ron's player, but we - as our characters - became really fed up with each other and arguing and the like. That sort of thing is hard, in real life as well as in RP, and when we had our last fight, that was just sort of it. I was devastated, personally! I felt like a bad player because I couldn't make it work and I wasn't willing to bend Hermione's personality/alter her true feelings to make it work. But I think it was the right thing to do, on all accounts. There's no sense in forcing a relationship; that's no fun at all, for anyone. Maybe when Ron's player answers questions, they can illuminate Ron's feelings on it more. To me it seemed Ron couldn't quite deal with liking her - a lot of mixed emotions. But I still don't know what goes on in Ron's brain, really, so that's only my theory on it.

The Veritaserum thread was really interesting, wasn't it? I knew, but I also sort of didn't, that all those feelings between Ron and Hermione were still there.

PS: Thanks for asking! I miss it all, too.

bookofjude @ August 10 2004, 13:23:46 UTC

Hello! Oh my god! Um! I did actually have a question or two for you but it's late and they've just gone out of my head, but I just wanted to scream absolutely love at you so I thought I'd comment now and then later make an actual question post.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 13:26:06 UTC

Feel free to do whatever works for you! :))

bookofjude @ August 10 2004, 13:40:31 UTC

I shall just ask here, shall I! Um, I suppose this is rather... wild of me, but can you enlighten us as to the nature of the potion that was brewed around April thaat caused some problems with Snape?

a_player @ August 10 2004, 14:13:31 UTC

Hermione was trying to brew a Wit-Sharpening Potion, but flubbed up because she was very tired when she brewed it. Though it was not imbibed, the fumes of this potion did indeed lower Snape's inhibitions, as well as Hermione's (though I doubt anyone noticed - she went out drinking with Ernie and some others on Halloween, which is fairly wild of Hermione to do), and allowed them to have a "Why not?" sort of attitude about some things they secretly wanted or had been curious about. Had it been actually taken I imagine the effects would have been more severe.

Oh, how I love Snape's player!

susan_voight @ August 10 2004, 13:56:31 UTC

(I think I may ask everyone this--)

1) What was your favorite in-game moment?

2) What was the hardest in-game moment?

3) Would you do anything differently if you had to do it all over again?

Thanks for doing this!

a_player @ August 10 2004, 14:22:43 UTC

1) My favourite in-game moment was Love Your Neighbour Week. I slept about seven hours total that week! It was hectic! Way more plotting went into that week than I can express! But I had so much fun, filling out those surveys and drawing pictures and plotting with my fellow players. That was when Hermione had just started talking to Ernie, which was exciting. It definitely is my personal highlight. (What's yours? I always like hearing about this.)

2) The hardest in-game moments for me were when Hermione broke up with Ron and the months following, because being single again is always such a gear-change and it can be such a sad time too, and also the last month or two of the game, with the death of the Weasleys and the attack on Hogwarts. Sitting around crying while you're plotting/writing entries is very draining. I felt all the deaths very powerfully. It was also challenging to play against potterstinks, I'll admit.

3) If I had to do it all over again I would definitely make more of an effort to Britpick and to double up my efforts at characterisation, but otherwise I can't think of a thing I'd change.

Thanks very much for asking!

susan_voight @ August 10 2004, 14:34:22 UTC

I can't really say I have a favorite, because I came to the game pretty late and I missed a lot. But I admire the way it ended and I think that culmination might end up being my favorite when it's all said and done.

I really admired the way you kept Hermione from being too perfect--it's a tough balance to walk, especially since _OotP_ was making her The Authorial Voice of Correctness. I liked that she and Harry wrongly suspected Percy, and that she hooked up with TMI-Ernie, and that her application to be a roommate was *enormous*, and that she got in a fight with Pansy. missgranger wasn't the flashiest character, but she was still a lot of fun to read.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 15:07:35 UTC

Forgive my self-absorbed reply, but you've brought up a couple of things that I wanted to comment about, since I probably won't get another chance to do so.

OotP's Hermione is often annoying and overbearing an entirely perfectly Hermione way, and I absolutely love it. I wish I'd have gotten to take Authorial Voice of Correctness Hermione and run with her but that would have required more control over the rest of the game than I had.

I really liked that Hermione and Harry wrongly suspected Percy, too, even though when that plot point finally came up, I felt so awful for Percy and like kicking myself! Harry's player and I were so into that plot. We were even suspecting Penny. Isn't that awful, in a delightful way? I still curl my toes with glee about it.

susan_voight @ August 10 2004, 15:11:34 UTC

Oh yes, she's annoying and overbearing too in _OotP_, but the Authorial Voice of Correctness is rather noticeable. :-)

And you & Harry's player were even suspecting Penny--does that mean that as players you also didn't know about what really happened, not just as characters? That's interesting.

And it's not self-absorbed--this is fascinating!

a_player @ August 10 2004, 15:24:41 UTC

I don't really think it's overwhelmingly Authorial, or at least I don't read it that way. I'm sure I may be inventing charactersation that doesn't really exist, but spending a lot of time thinking about a character will do that to you!

We as players knew what was going on, but the characters of course had no clue and while we were plotting with Percy's player about the situation, we felt horribly delighted at ourselves for puroposefully taking Hermione and Harry down the wrong path, and brought in every awful thing we could think of (like suspecting Penny of being Percy's accomplice) because it was just too fun not to.

susan_voight @ August 10 2004, 15:28:35 UTC

The thread where Percy found out what the other characters had been thinking was indeed squirmingly awful and wonderful. Poor Percy (and Penny)!

susan_voight @ August 10 2004, 15:35:07 UTC

Hmmm, thought of another question I might like to ask everyone.

4) Do you also write HP fanfic, and did it help or interfere with your playing the character here?

a_player @ August 10 2004, 15:43:50 UTC

I do also write HP fanfic, and it didn't interfere at all with playing here. Playing here interfered more with writing fanfic because I was busy with this and it took priority. But playing in NA really opened my eyes to a lot of different characters/characterisations and pairings, and solidified my liking for Hermione in a more personal way, so I think it was only helpful as opposed to detrimental.

luna_lg @ August 10 2004, 20:07:30 UTC

Have you posted any of your stories yet? And if so, where can we read them, and under what author name(s)?

a_player @ August 10 2004, 22:17:00 UTC

Ah! I would tell you, but I've decided to be quiet about my identity. Trust me, though, you aren't missing out on anything!

1anonymous1 @ August 10 2004, 14:01:44 UTC

Hmmmmmmmmm*tries to think of good questions*

We can ask more than one right?

1.)Would you marry me?
2.)During the course of the RPG, who all did you hook up with?
3.)Do I know you?

a_player @ August 10 2004, 14:25:28 UTC

Right, feel free to ask however many you like!

1.) If I weren't spoken for, I might accept. :))
2.) Do you mean me, or Hermione?
3.) Well, I don't know you, so I can't imagine you know me... but who knows. Life is funny like that. :D

1anonymous1 @ August 10 2004, 16:01:05 UTC

1.)Damned.
2.)Hermione,lol.:D
3.)Maybe I met you at a train station once or something.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 16:06:51 UTC

1.) I am very flattered, though. I hope you can take the ring back.
2.) Oh, well then! Only Ron, Ernie, Professor Snape, Harry, Justin one time in a threesome when we were all terribly drunk and it seemed like a good idea, Professor Lupin, Charlie Weasley, and Sir Cadogan. Actually, only Ron and Ernie, but a player can dream.
3.) Perhaps a past life?

1anonymous1 @ August 10 2004, 16:09:28 UTC

1.)I shall wait for you.
2.)lol, at first I was like "I knew it" in regards to Snape but then I realized you were teasing. Scandalous.
3.)Ourloveissodestined.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 16:22:25 UTC

1.) Will you? Will you wait for me into the next life...?
2.) Haha! I reckoned that's what you might have been thinking.
3.) It is, I'll admit. We have so much in common... starting with the fact that we're both anonymous...

1anonymous1 @ August 10 2004, 19:15:23 UTC

1.)Yes, my dearest love.<3
2.)lol, oh really?So, nothing ever happened between Snape and yourself? And did you, ya know, do the nasty with Ron?
3.)This is very true. And we both want to do it with Lupin.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 22:28:26 UTC

Oh my gosh. :))))))

1anonymous1 @ August 10 2004, 23:41:37 UTC

Answer the question(s) miss.

1anonymous1 @ August 12 2004, 20:15:35 UTC

Oh yeah, if your still around, what was that potion you botched that got Snape so angry?

a_player @ August 13 2004, 10:41:07 UTC

I answered that right hizzere.

1anonymous1 @ August 13 2004, 14:34:57 UTC

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!


The fact that you said hizzere makes me want to make sweet love to you by a fire even more.

luna_lg @ August 10 2004, 20:09:47 UTC

3.)Ourloveissodestined.

LOL!!! Now, that's a perfect icon for ANY ship!

1anonymous1 @ August 10 2004, 20:11:43 UTC

;)

dry_your_eyes @ August 10 2004, 14:13:12 UTC

Are you good friends with other characters' players? Were you before the game started? Are you the most close to the players of characters who are the most close to Hermione? Ron, Harry, Ernie for example?

It's not a question - just a statement - Ernie/Hermione is totally cool ;)

Thank you for doing it!

a_player @ August 10 2004, 14:31:11 UTC

I am very good friends with a few of the players, and friendly still with most of the others even if I don't talk to them that often. To single out my best friends over some others might be a little rude of me, but I'll definitely go so far as to say that a few of my close friends are also players. It was a game started initially amongst a group of friends, so even though some faces changed we're all pretty friendly.

dry_your_eyes @ August 10 2004, 14:40:43 UTC

thank you for your answer :)

a_player @ August 10 2004, 14:54:24 UTC

Thanks for your question! :)

sternel @ Deleted Deleted

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a_player @ August 10 2004, 14:52:24 UTC

I would have considered playing many other characters! I really wanted Hermione, though, so I sort of did the whole Hermione-esque frantic wave of the hand in the air thing when she came up. 'Me! Me!!'

And yes, definitely. Of course I can't speak for everyone, but I know I have what I refer to as an 'inner Hermione' that acts like an alarm system, and when I see other interpretations that don't sit right with me, the inner Hermione alarm goes off and sounds like this: I'd never! It never happens when I read her in canon, because I basically take the books as my bible and JKR's words as law, and I love learning anything I can about Hermione straight from JKR herself, but when I read fics and other games I really tend to be picky about it. I'm sure I have no right to be like that at all! But I'm willing to wager other Hermiones feel that way about NA Hermione too! I don't feel so much propriatary about Hermione as I feel defensive about her, as if she's a good friend of mine and I understand where she's coming from and that people have the wrong idea about her sometimes. It increased because of the game, definitely, but it hasn't since decreased. I feel pretty snobby saying all of this! I don't mean to say my interpretation of Hermione is more right than anyone else's, because I know I could have done better, myself, but I do mean to say that seeing other Hermiones seems sort of wrong sometimes.

It's really difficult to pick a favourite thread, especially of someone else's, because after a while I mostly remember my own words and not other players' words - and also, there were so many threads! I'm willing to bet it was an Arthur thread, though, or a Weasley thread. They're so feisty.

sternel @ Deleted Deleted

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a_player @ August 10 2004, 15:29:22 UTC

I delight in the fact that JKR knows so much about this universe that she'll never put in the books or detail out for other people. I really do relish the idea of there being a history of the Death Eaters and backstories for characters like Dean Thomas and Theodore Nott that will probably never pop up in the books. I'd love to see it, of course, but even if I don't, just the knowledge that JKR has thought it all out is so wonderful and inspiring for me.

Thanks for the questions! :D

sistermagpie @ August 10 2004, 15:03:05 UTC

I just have to say...this totally shows. I was really really impressed with NA!Hermione and the way she came across. I mean, you could always see how passionately she felt about being right in every situation, but at the same time she was allowed to be wrong--and allowed to mistake how she'd like things to be with what was right...things like that. It just made her very Hermione.:-)

My question, I think, is about Hermione's feelings towards Parvati, leading up to her decision to room with her and Padma, since in the past/canon Hermione probably thought Parvati a bit silly. I could imagine Hermione wanting to get her own flat, for instance, and it seemed like her decision to apply as a roommate was about more than her budget.

Also, is there anything we don't know about that fight between Hermione and Pansy you can tell us? (You bet I'll bet asking Pansy too...)

a_player @ August 10 2004, 15:40:24 UTC

Thanks very much! I never felt much like anyone thought anything about Hermione other than she was just there for H/D conflict or something, so to hear that anyone was impressed by her is very... orgasmic, actually.

Hermione's feelings toward Parvati only changed in the very last two or three months of the game, and it was a real effort on her part to buck up and not be jealous of Ron and Parvati, even though she liked Ernie anyway, and I think it was a really conscious decision on her part to try and be on friendly terms with Parvati instead of resentful of her. (It was probably a selfish decision, to help her get over the sting of it.) Her decision to apply to be the Patil twins' roommate was kind of out of the blue for her, but I seem to remember thinking, The Patils are looking for a roommate? Perfect! I think her very large application was telling of the fact that she really felt she needed to sell herself as a roommate. I could also see Hermione getting her own flat, but she was determined to be social, I suppose!

Let's see, the Pansy and Hermione fight. I'm not sure if there's any details you don't know! It was a moment of blind passion, and I'm sure if it had been anyone else going for the book Hermione wanted, she would not have fought for it. Something about Pansy really infuriates Hermione. She got to where she was tuning out Draco and was fairly insensitive to his barbs, but Pansy is a different breed of cunning and offended Hermione in different and far more cutting ways. Hm, does that count as detail you didn't know? I feel like I'm stating the obvious!

sistermagpie @ August 10 2004, 17:30:50 UTC

Thanks very much! I never felt much like anyone thought anything about Hermione other than she was just there for H/D conflict or something,

Oh, not at all! In fact, when she did do something that effected that pair it usually made me wonder exactly where she was coming from, how she was trying to deal with that. I love what you said about Hermione's reaction to Ron/Parvati, for instance. Yes, I can totally believe she would do that, telling herself that she'd no reason to be jealous since she had Ernie and Ron was her friend. Hermione's so practical and analytic I can see her emotions about the whole thing making her that much more determine to reach out to Parvati.

I also love your keeping the canon dislike of Pansy (even if NA!Pansy's one of my favorites, Hermione wouldn't like her at all)! I definitely didn't think Hermione would have gone for anybody else the way she did for Pansy. I'd love to hear more about your take on exactly what Hermione hated about her, although it just seems right that she would to me. It's not that it confuses me, it's really just my selfish attempt to get you to talk about it because it seems like it would be full of juicy Hermione-characterization things.:-)

a_player @ August 10 2004, 22:39:46 UTC

I personally adored our Pansy - her player is just about the sweetest thing ever, and she put so much work into Pansy. I hope I can adequately answer you about Hermione's dislike of Pansy... I feel intimidated, as I've never sat down to put it into words before.

First of all, Pansy was way more sophisticated than Hermione, and spoke to her so condescendingly behind this thin, silky, sugary veil, and Hermione really hated how insincere and syrupy Pansy came off at times as well as being made out to be ignorant of anything. Hermione was so Plain Jane and Pansy was offensively unplain. Also, there was the fact that Pansy took a liking to all of the Weasleys and sort of threatened Hermione's place as Ginny's friend.

One of my favourite Pansy-related memories is that box of hers Ron's got during LYNW. Hermione helped him crack it just because she didn't like Pansy, when she might not have done such a thing otherwise, at least without really good reason.

sistermagpie @ August 11 2004, 01:51:36 UTC

Wow! Ron cracked that box?! I had no idea. Poor Pansy.:-(

But still, that's just the type of non-perfect thing Hermione should be doing. I did wonder if Pansy's connection to the Weasleys just made everything worse. And it really must have driven Hermione crazy the way Pansy could sort of drift in when stuff was going down and act like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.:-)

It doesn't surprise me you had never put it into words before, though. It's just the type of thing that would drive Hermone crazy, it sounds like, that Pansy makes her feel this way and doesn't even want to know why. Of course now I'm wondering if Hermione felt uncomfortable at all with Pansy dying, or if she felt much about it specifically. But there was a lot of other things going on, so Hermione may have only had time to really think about the people close to her during the game.

a_player @ August 11 2004, 03:37:42 UTC

Ron did crack the box with Hermione's help, but the contents were private so we didn't want to splash them all over the community.

When Hermione heard that Pansy had been killed she was nothing but shocked and saddened, but at the time she did care more about people other than Pansy and didn't spend near as much time thinking about Pansy as she did about Lisa, Ernie, Harry.

layha @ August 10 2004, 14:41:59 UTC No question here, folks. Keep moving on.

Hahaha. Icon.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 14:53:20 UTC Ur dirtee.

ALL CREDIT GOES TO YOU! I was wondering if I should have credited in the keywords.

layha @ August 11 2004, 05:45:04 UTC Re: Ur dirtee.

No worries. I don't get uptight about that sort of thing... It's an homage, anyway... I should just be flattered and get on with it.

*grins*

zedmeister @ August 10 2004, 17:03:58 UTC Re: No question here, folks. Keep moving on.

Heeeey! Layha! :D You don't actually know me, but I have to ask - since veela-inc.net is down, can I find the p0tt3r stuff anywhere else?

layha @ August 11 2004, 05:44:19 UTC Re: No question here, folks. Keep moving on.

Not at the moment, I'm sorry to say.

unknownwisdom @ August 10 2004, 14:58:55 UTC

Hi, er- It's really hard not to just scream "omg, player love!!!", but that would be wasting a comment o.oU (I have the biggest smile on my face right now, it's really quite sad).

So, here's my question:

Has it ever been difficult for you (especially toward the start of NA), to not automatically conform to the popular fandom views of Hermione (stereotype her in anyway)? Were you influenced purely by canon or did any fanfics you've read also change the way you played her?

(I hope that makes sense *.*) Thanks so much!

a_player @ August 10 2004, 15:18:48 UTC

Hi! I do too, actually, so we can just sit here and grin.

I've never conformed to popular fandom views of anyone, either because I'm not familiar with them, I just concentrate so much on canon, or because they're really off. I'm sure I'm guilty of stereotyping Hermione or making her more of a character than a person, especially when I first started playing her, but I don't think it's something to feel enormously guilty over.

Hermione, I suppose, has a few different stereotypes, depending on the area of the fandom you're in (I'm pretty sure all the different Hermione/whoever shippers have different interpretations of Hermione, and slashers different still), but I'm not all that well-read in fandom literature so I don't think I've read any fanfics that changed how I played her. If Hermione's characterisation changed over time it's because I grew more comfortable with the role and RPing.

I hope that makes sense, too!

pixelbit @ August 10 2004, 15:20:29 UTC

Hiya Hermione's Player, thanks so much for doing this!

I'm struggling to find a question as I'm still in the "WAH!" happy phase at there actually being a QA session, but...

With being so busy playing and plotting things, did you read all the NA threads as they happened? I know I had trouble keeping up, and I was only watching. :)

a_player @ August 10 2004, 15:48:53 UTC

Hi there!

I would say that I read most NA threads as they were happening, provided I was online/checking NA at the time they were happening. Sometimes I had trouble keeping up, too; if there were several threads going at once, I often would have to just stick to refreshing one or two and checking out the other later. I hung around and F5ed as much as any nrager, I'd say.

comava @ August 10 2004, 16:17:27 UTC

Hello and woo-hoo! I'm so glad we get to have a few last squeefests!

Anyway, I just wanted to mention how much I always loved Hermion's posts in the middle of chaos - like the one explaining the attack on the Great Hall. We would all be omgwtf?! and then she'd neatly detail everything, no matter how distraught she might be.

LYNW is one of my favorite NA happenings too. I think a lot of people liked that, it put unlikely people together and the whole "most prized possesion" was great.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 16:29:55 UTC

Hello! I like your icon. :((

I really enjoyed writing those Here's-What-Happened posts of Hermione's. Whatever happened, I'd say, "Well, of course Hermione will do a write-up about it." I'd spend hours on those so it's really nice to hear that they're appreciated!

LYNW lives on in my heart! In my heart I shall forever be giggling at Ernie getting a piggy-back ride from Professor Flitwick. I shall let you in on a secret that you did not ask to hear! When we were plotting up LYNW partners, Snape's player suggested that Ernie and Hermione be partners because they knew Hermione had a secret crush on Ernie. I was mortified and thrilled all at once. Ernie's player, I'm sure, will be embarrassed to hear this.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 17:18:23 UTC

What's to be embarrassed about? My character was a sex god, no surprises there. Nice and smooth, nice and smooth.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 17:20:25 UTC

Your icon is nice and smooth! Very appropro for a sex god!

a_player @ August 10 2004, 17:22:30 UTC

The fish looks kind of embarrassed and nervous. :/ Now I have performance anxiety.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 17:31:12 UTC

Try commenting with the cool smiley face again!

a_player @ August 10 2004, 17:34:42 UTC

Maybe I should change icons. I will never decide!

a_player @ August 10 2004, 17:36:40 UTC

I still vote for Colonel Mustard, but not that weird one.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 17:39:37 UTC

I couldn't find any good ones. Google is a rat fink.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 17:44:10 UTC

Man, true. :-

pokethegeek @ August 10 2004, 17:40:41 UTC

ERNIE!!!!!!!111

jiffy_spiffy @ August 11 2004, 03:13:12 UTC

ERNIE! You know, you are the fictional roleplay character love of my life. I just thought you should know that I fangirl you long and hard and always shall.

comava @ August 10 2004, 21:49:02 UTC

Thanks! I didn't make it though and I'm afraid I can't really remember who did. :-(

Yes, it is a very Hermione-ish thing to do and it was always great to finally hear what happened after all that wibbling!

lol, that is cute! I had never thought of Herm/Ernie before, but you two managed to pull it off beautifully. And oh, that part about "I just want to lie down with Ernie" in the Here's-What-Happened post after the Great Hall attack - it was just so sweet.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 22:08:31 UTC

I shall now weep in remembrance. I miss Ernie!

goth_the_goat @ August 10 2004, 16:21:21 UTC

I love you. >33333333

Anyway, I got a few questions for you:

1) What was the funniest roleplaying in Nocturne Alley? Personally, I like the Sleep and Media duel the best.
2) How do you potray the Hermione/Harry business? I'm sure it was not as difficult as, say, Ron/Hermione.
3) Hermione is bound to have more relationships other than Harry and Ron. Was it difficult to have some sort of a connection to characters such as Lisa or Mandy or Ernie?
4) ...What happened to Snape during that potion incident? He was all up in arms against you, deriving Gryffindor of all of points so I am just curious? That was the most scary RPs I've ever seen. O_O

a_player @ August 10 2004, 16:43:35 UTC

:O! And I you.

1) I'm sure this differs for everyone, but for me the funniest roleplaying in NA was either Arthur at any given time or fights between Ron and Draco. The time Ron gave Draco rabbit ears and Draco gave Ron tomato ears is forever burnt into my retinas. The media duel was hilarious! Terry Boot was also really funny.
2) Well, I think a lot of the Harry/Hermione interaction happened in plotting or RPing off the journals, so their friendship was probably never accurately represented on the journals. But you're right, it wasn't as difficult as Ron/Hermione.
3) Hermione does indeed have more relationships than Harry and Ron. She is great friends with Ginny and did strike up a friendliness with Lisa, and even got to where she was getting to know Parvati and Lavender better than she did before. While Cho was around, Hermione and Cho were really friendly with each other. Any connections that happened were genuinely felt by me, so they weren't difficult.
4) Yes, Snape was pretty angry about the potion, and I don't really blame him, but I'm sure he went farther than most people would to punish Hermione, putting her in charge of something like the Wolfsbane potion brewing. I can't speak for Snape's player, of course, but I'm sure Snape was probably embarrassed and that can be a very powerful emotion. Hermione was very embarrassed for both of them, but took her medicine without complaint, and of course was privately thrilled at the challenge and responsibility of the Wolfsbane potion. I never felt she was too ruffled by Snape, and she was rather fond of him by the time the game was over.

goth_the_goat @ August 10 2004, 21:13:39 UTC

The time Ron gave Draco rabbit ears and Draco gave Ron tomato ears is forever burnt into my retinas.

You know, I could never find that link. Would you be so nice and show me a link?

The media duel was hilarious!

Dean's big red letters for death is forever burned in my mind. I actually copied and pasted most the duel onto WordPerfect and put it on the back of my Advanced Georgraphy class notebook. The front was, of course, Boot's 'Support Boot' signs and Dean's artwork on the outcome of the so-called duel.

...

In fact, all of my notebooks are decorated with N_A pictures and qoutes . . . should show pictures sometime. . .

a_player @ August 10 2004, 21:49:54 UTC

I would be happy to link you, but I have no idea when it was! I'm sure if you follow NA rereads it will pop up eventually, if it hasn't already - I'm not sure, I haven't been rereading along with.

You should show pictures of your notebooks!

elusivefool @ August 11 2004, 02:21:54 UTC Link

Um, I hope you don’t mind my butting in, but I happened to have the link to that amusing incident so I thought I’d post it for you.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/just_harry/2002/08/14/

There are also posts about it over on Draco and Ron’s journals on the same day with some really funny comments.

black_dog @ August 10 2004, 16:39:55 UTC

Thank you for doing this!

I really loved the way you developed Hermione, especially in the last six months or so of the game, where I thought you brought out a playful, confident, and even sexy side to her that was still canon!Hermione. It felt like she had sort of blossomed, thanks to Snape's respect, her relationship with Ernie, and -- maybe a certain emotional independence from the Trio? Am I right to think that, before then, she was really a little bit lonely despite all her confidence? What turned things around for her?

I'm fascinated by your hints about Hermione and Snape. Sometimes, Snape's sternness and Hermione's "yes sir" type of response felt like they had a bit of a playful, roleplaying subtext. Was anything like that going on?

Hermione/Ernie was just perfect, but also completely unexpected, I thought. Was it a spontaneous decision by the characters during LYN week or more elaborately planned? And why Ernie, specifically -- what did you feel Hermione and Ernie did for each other?

Finally, I'm almost sorry to ask an H/D question because of your remark that some people treated Hermione as a prop for H/D conflict. But I'm irresistably curious. A couple of us were wondering if, toward the end of the game, Hermione and Harry's friendship was meant to be cooling, in part because Hermione couldn't really forgive H/D and Harry was a little bothered by Ernie. Any truth to this? Did Hermione ever really respect or understand Harry's fascination with Draco? Did she self-consciously start to define herself in a way that was more separate from the Trio?

a_player @ August 10 2004, 17:28:50 UTC

Thank you for being interested! I'm having fun, and it's really sort of nice to finally let out some of my thoughts on the game.

You're right when you say that Hermione gained a bit of emotional independence from the Trio (I think that happened to the whole trio at different times in the game). Hermione had a good friend in Ginny, but she was still very lonely after she and Ron threw in the towel, so to speak, and Harry was often preoccupied with Malfoy. Things turned around for her when she and Ron started acting like friends again and when she started talking to Ernie.

I think Snape and Hermione became fond of each other after a while, and I do believe they eventually saw through each other's outermost layer and found mutual respect - but of course, I can't speak for Snape's player. I will say that Hermione brought him sweets once. Snape's player and I are really good friends so that might have come through, also.

Ernie/Hermione was very unexpected for me, too! I can only tell you my side of it, which may be sort of a let-down as it's not all that exciting. Hermione went out drinking with Ernie and a few others on Halloween, and had fun; Ernie made a post mentioning it and also mentioning that Hermione wasn't so bad. At the time, Hermione felt sort of alone and like everyone (well, Ron and Harry) disliked her, so it heartened her greatly to hear Ernie say that, and gave her a bit of a flutter in the tummy every time she thought of him after that. I knew this, but I didn't intend to make it a part of the game - I wasn't interested in another forced relationship, as Ron/Hermione had started to be, and felt that Hermione would probably not act on it, either. However, I did tell Snape's player that Hermione liked Ernie, and Snape's player sneakily suggested Ernie and Hermione as LYNW partners. It was all over from there! I'm just lucky Ernie's player was open to the idea of it. It wasn't more elaborately planned than that; I never stopped to think about what Ernie and Hermione had in common or what they could do for each other, but when I did realise they had a few traits in common I was really delighted. I think that Hermione felt a lot like she could be as ravenous about studying as she liked around him, as Ernie is a bit like that also, and also found that she really liked making him laugh and even teasing him. There's both a casualness and a steadfast love and loyalty about Hufflepuffs that mellowed Hermione out a little. But as for what Hermione did for Ernie - if anything - you'll have to ask Ernie's player!

Harry and Hermione's friendship was not cooling, and I'm very sorry if seemed like it was. Unfortunately some important interaction of Harry and Hermione's wasn't on the journals, but between us as players. I do wish I could share these things! Hermione never liked Draco, and probably never will, but even if she didn't understand Harry's feelings she always respected them and wanted the very most for Harry to be happy. She could forgive H/D, but still be confused and hurt by it. At the end of the day, she loves Harry and Ron, even if she doesn't love Draco and Parvati. Harry was bothered by Ernie but I think Harry also respected Hermione's right to like him. In some of Hermione's more irritated moments, she spoke her mind about Draco, but I really think the bond of the trio is too great to be broken by anything. Dinged up, maybe, but never broken! I don't think she started to define herself in a way that was more separate from the Trio, exactly, but she did begin looking beyond it.

sistermagpie @ August 10 2004, 17:35:44 UTC

Butting in again here, but I just had to say I'm amazed that you guys hadn't planned Hermione/Ernie by LYNW! I had thought it was in the works ever since the night they went out drinking as well!! I mean, I didn't think they were together or anything, but I think I probably read Ernie's mention of her the same way as Hermione did, as something with a little flutter potential. No wonder the whole thing seemed so natural, though. It turns out it was!

a_player @ August 10 2004, 17:45:23 UTC

Hahaha! Imagine! :D

black_dog @ August 10 2004, 17:59:50 UTC

Oh, I love the idea of Snape (or even, Snape's player) as matchmaker! Hooray for tummy-flutters, but hooray even more for acting on them. I just really thought Hermione/Ernie ended up being a brilliant pairing, and all the more so for being so incongruous. I've posted this before, but one of my favorite images of the two of them was Hermione and Ernie in their cauldron-helmets, and Harry saying that he couldn't even figure out whose idea it was. Tin hat or technical innovation? Or perfect blend of the two?

They were both such an interesting mix of intensity and vulnerability, I can see them just understanding each other perfectly. I loved the picture H drew of Ernie, "in a few minutes after lunch." And yeah, mellowness was definitely something Ernie seemed to bring out in Hermione, as well as all the other stuff. (Magpie and I speculated once that Ernie was just a star in the sack. Um, not to be reductive or anything.) ;)

Thank you for clarifying Hermione's feelings about Harry. It was a puzzle, because the stresses and possible resentments were there for all to see, but the strength and durability of the relationship had to be inferred. I know you guys have talked about releasing RP transcripts and decided against it, and I will just make sad eyes about that and say nothing. 8(

Thank you, again, for giving us a glimpse inside NA and of your own approach as a player. It's huge fun to have you out here doing this thread!

a_player @ August 10 2004, 21:56:46 UTC

I was very enthused about the picture Hermione drew of Ernie. I'm no artist, but I did draw it myself, and I have to say, it looks much better in real life than it does in the scan. I stalked nraged to see if anyone would say anything about it but I was sorely disappointed! Now I'm getting to talk about it, though, so I feel better. I once considered sending it to Ernie's player but I didn't want to be totally creepy.

Er, about Ernie being a star in the sack? Er, yes. Well.

I'm going to stop this comment before it gets any more fangirly over Ernie. :D

black_dog @ August 10 2004, 23:31:15 UTC

Oh the picture was wonderful! I love Ernie's little half-smile, and what you did with his eyes. You made him look very handsome -- and if, unlike Magpie, I was oblivious when Ernie made his comment at Halloween, I remember seeing the picture and thinking -- uh oh, she's really attracted to him. I was just rereading the comments, and Hannah's character caught that, too. ("Well!") :)

a_player @ August 11 2004, 03:06:48 UTC

WHAT NOW I WANT IT

a_player @ August 11 2004, 03:30:01 UTC

Really? :O

a_player @ August 11 2004, 03:44:04 UTC

DO I EVER :O Now I wish Ernie had drawn Hermione too.

a_player @ August 11 2004, 03:49:37 UTC

There's still time. ;;)

hezzabeth @ August 11 2004, 11:02:22 UTC

I loved your picture and now I feel bad because I did'nt say anything!

a_player @ August 11 2004, 13:23:39 UTC

Oh, don't! Thanks for saying so now, though! :)

hezzabeth @ August 12 2004, 06:23:23 UTC

It looked exactly how I pictured Ernie.

sangaree @ August 10 2004, 17:24:54 UTC

Hello!
I have to say I really like your Hermione; she was so true to canon and at the same time so very interesting in her own way. And the Hermione/Ernie thing was absolutely adorable!


So. The questions:

What characters in NA were the most interesting for you to have interaction with?

Were there some characters you wish you had more interaction with, but you didn't really have a chance since they and Hermione were not close enough in the game?

Did you know the whole plot all along or were there some things that really surprised you?

What NA!Hermione thinks about Professor Snape? I had a feeling that she likes him more than Harry or Ron do. But how do you feel, were it possible for her to adore him in a way she adored Professor Lockhart in the second year perhaps?

What are your favourite Hermione moments from the books?


Thanks for doing this <3

a_player @ August 10 2004, 17:46:42 UTC

Hi! Thank you very much for the compliments!

Probably the most interesting characters for Hermione to interact with were, for me, Harry, Snape, and Luna. I liked interacting with everyone, but joking with Harry was fun because his sense of humour was just really different, Snape was always unnerving, and Luna is... Luna, so she's interesting as is. Hermione didn't comment to her very often, but it was always strange when she did.

I really wish that, as Hermione, I could have laid some smack down on Lucius! I also wish that she would have got to know Justin a bit more.

Even when you know the whole plot all along, there are still things that surprise you.

Hermione likes Snape in a tentative way; she certainly likes him more than Harry and Ron, and both respects him and maybe feels a little sorry for him, since he's sort of hated and that whole potion thing helped her see him a little more as a human being. I don't think she adored him like she adored Lockhart! There can be only one!

My favourite Hermione moments from the books are the S.P.E.W. moments (when she's annoying Ron and Harry about S.P.E.W., knitting house-elf clothes, et cetera) and when she kisses the boys. >:D "HERMIONE!" I think. "DRACO NEXT!"

Thank you for asking questions!

jheaton @ August 10 2004, 18:16:16 UTC

How did you (as a player and as the character) feel about not being named Head Girl? I remember being quite surprised when Lisa was named Head Girl.

And can you tell us who the Head Boy was? (I understand that this may be one of those things that you want to keep a secret, but it can't hurt to ask, right?)

a_player @ August 10 2004, 21:15:39 UTC

I'm really glad you asked that - Hermione was quite surprised, too, and it was sort of a blow to the ego, and one of the things that sort of tripped her up, along with the breakup with Ron and Harry's friendship with Malfoy. I was absolutely fine with it, as a player, because it gave me something to work with, but I also felt for Hermione sometimes. When I was in high school, there was a 'Senior Award' handed out in my choir class to a senior each year who had been in the choir all four years of school, participated in solos and ensembles, and was generally a dedicated student. I fit the bill and then some, and got on superbly well with my teacher, and I along with almost everyone else in the choir thought I'd definitely get the award, but I didn't, and it was very shocking and embarrassing for me that I didn't. The person who won the award wasn't even there to get it! So, I can sort of relate to how Hermione must have felt, I hope.

I am sorry that I cannot tell you who H.B. was!

PS: I like your icon!

jheaton @ August 10 2004, 21:51:45 UTC

Well, it was a long shot. But I have a follow-up question: Do you even know who the H.B. was? The way you phrased your answer makes me wonder if the players bothered to assign an identity to the H.B. once it was decided that he would be kept anonymous. Maybe he's the NA equivalent of the briefcase in Pulp Fiction...

And, thanks for the icon love!

a_player @ August 10 2004, 22:06:46 UTC

Oh, I wish I could tell you, I do, but the H.B. is sort of an inside joke!

pokethegeek @ August 10 2004, 18:19:40 UTC

Uhm, I don't know if this really applies to you, seeing as you have already answered above, that you specifically did not have much to do with the main plot.

But I am really interested in hearing about how na was run, the inter-character-business and about GMs and stuff? What can you tell me about that?

I find it truly amazing, that there are people who have put so much time into making na run, the characters (who to me, where more that just characters), all the background history and all the little details that made na so special :)

Oh and THANK YOU SO MUCH for the long post after the attack, it was so needed during the intense!wibblechat <3333

a_player @ August 10 2004, 21:27:26 UTC

Let me see... I'm not sure how much I can give away. We're sort of a private group and I do feel bad speaking for the whole lot of us. There were mods to keep us all in check and enthused and on the same page, a mailing list for all the players so we could easily keep in touch and bat around comments and ideas at our leisure, group chats (especially for big event plotting), and a lot of chatting between players almost every day. Some players did private RPing, and others didn't at all. It greatly varied from player to player. We all had a lot of leeway to do whatever we felt comfortable with.

I'm sorry I can't tell you more but I don't want to speak for other people or violate anyone's privacy. I'm not sure I'm the best player to answer these sorts of technical game questions.

Thank you very much for the comments, though!

eponis @ August 10 2004, 18:32:55 UTC

I'm sorry for having trivial questions. . .

1) What was Hermione's reaction to Ernie's g-spot post? For that matter, what triggered the post? :-)

2) Did Hermione ever have any kind of crush on any of the adults?

3) For that matter, how did Hermione (as a typical student concerned with classes, etc.) feel about having her professors' love lives spilling all over the journals?

4) Have you played Hermione since near the beginning? Some of your other comments have made that sound like the case, but I thought I'd ask.

eponis @ August 10 2004, 18:35:12 UTC

Oh, and thank you for doing this!!! Hermione was totally awesome - her SPEW website was just great, and I always loved her long, slightly-irritable-that-she-had-to-post updates.

a_player @ August 10 2004, 21:36:16 UTC

her long, slightly-irritable-that-she-had-to-post updates

Haha! That about nails it!

Thank you very much!

a_player @ August 10 2004, 21:34:28 UTC

No problem, I enjoy trivial questions!

1) Oh, gosh. Well, a tingly warm dizzy mix of embarrassment, pleasure, sheepishness, and more embarrassment. She remained pointedly quiet about it and pretended it hadn't been said! I'm afraid my inner Hermione will not allow me to divulge what triggered the post but you may have your own ideas which you are definitely free to run with!

2) Hermione never had a crush on any of the adults but she liked most of them a lot - she really likes teachers, and praise from them. She did have sort of a tenuous friendship with Snape and a friendliness with Lupin.

3) That is a bit of a touchy question - Hermione felt very awkward about it and like it was apallingly unprofessional, but she also wanted everything to end up all right for all of them and always read what they had to say with a sort of guilty devotion. But if she could have shut them up, I think she would have!

4) I haven't always been Hermione, but I've played her for quite a long time. Ah! I can say no more!

slinkhard @ August 10 2004, 19:17:27 UTC

Hey there! I don't know if this means more or less coming from someone who's not a wild fan of Hermione, but I enjoyed your posts.
I thought (well, think) you captured her voice very well, even if it's never been a voice I'm particularly in tune with.
I laughed especially at Ernie's larger role in the game seeming to match his larger role in OotP, and likewise, NA!Hermione and Pansy's fighting in light of Hermione in OotP being particularly vicious about Miss P.
My question is very boring, I'm afraid, but it's one I plan on asking all the players: Are you planning on 'coming out' as a player, do you think?

a_player @ August 10 2004, 21:45:54 UTC

Thank you, it does mean a lot to hear something like that!

I gave great thought to 'coming out' but in the end I felt too uncomfortable to A) draw attention to myself and have people think I was looking for praise or something, and B) possibly spoil the game for some. I really do think it's much better when you don't know who the players are. It just gives it that much more of a believable edge for me - the characters are just that much more the characters, instead of LJ users parading around pretending they're going to Hogwarts.

My main reason for wanting to 'come out' was to announce, So, this is what I've been doing for the last two years! A great deal of my energy went to NA instead of other fandom projects, and I would have just liked people to know that I didn't leave the fandom or fall off the face of the planet as is probably assumed. I've just been NAing! I suppose the time to come out has passed, and that's okay, because I'm perfectly content to stay quiet and pick up other fannish things.

jocondite @ August 11 2004, 00:30:37 UTC

*pout* I wanna know who you are! Who you all are!
Ahem. You've given excellent reasons. But I want to fangirl properly and read all the players' fic.
Clue?

a_player @ August 11 2004, 03:28:24 UTC

Your clue is that I haven't put out any fic for over a year!

woo2step @ August 10 2004, 20:47:59 UTC

Hello, Hermione's Player! I do have a question, but may I just interrupt myself to mention that, reading the comments, I have come to the conclusion that you are too cute for words?

I kind of want to know a bit more about you, in a non-stalkerish way. 'Cause, yes. Are you anything like Hermione herself (canon or N_A)? Can you share anything about yourself that doesn't give yourself away?

And Hermione/Ernie, man. *thumbs up*

goth_the_goat @ August 10 2004, 21:31:05 UTC

Is that NA fanart on your icon?

xnera @ August 10 2004, 21:44:44 UTC

Yup -- it's by joosetta. I would link but I am just about to leave work.

--xnera, member of Joosetta's official pimp squad

a_player @ August 10 2004, 22:09:32 UTC

Hello! Oh, shucks! You're too kind, I don't know what to say.

I never really related to Hermione before playing her, and I would never go so far as to say I'm Hermione-like. But I feel very at home in her shoes, when I try them on.

Something about myself... I like to go on drives with a good CD on and I love to park! I find it so satisfying to do a good parking job. I also like to drive other people's cars. It's very exciting!

corrupteddreams @ August 10 2004, 21:52:30 UTC

Hi, Hermione's Player! I loved how you captured Hermione in N_A - I always loked forward to your posts. Anyway, what was the biggest obstacle you felt you faced (if any) while playing Hermione?

a_player @ August 10 2004, 22:15:02 UTC

Hi! Thank you very much. I'm drowning in love, I think.

The biggest obstacle I faced as Hermione was probably the sort of fall-out that happened in the Trio at one point in the game. To make Hermione stand on her own was really challenging and I don't feel like I did a very good job, but at least they all made up eventually.

I also found arguing my brains out for S.P.E.W. to be an obstacle, moreso for Hermione than for me but we were sort of one and the same. I was so frustrated during one thread about S.P.E.W. that I just started crying. I still feel pretty strongly about S.P.E.W. :))

corrupteddreams @ August 11 2004, 01:19:39 UTC

Thanks for answering :)

raincreature @ August 10 2004, 22:32:39 UTC

A more personal question for our dearest darlingest Hermione:

I often find myself thinking about the players as I read NA. They're people with friends and families and jobs. Many may even be students.

So how on earth did you find time for NA? How did it fit into your life? Did any of your friends or family members know about this community? How much time did you spend on it in a given week?

Feel free to disregard any/all questions.

Thank you. <3

a_player @ August 10 2004, 22:50:11 UTC

I hope these somewhat vague answers are indeed answers at all.

The time I spent on NA really varied per week, and it's really difficult for me to try and put my thumb on how much time in general I spent on it. A lot! Not as much as some players, but moreso than comes across looking at the journals, because there was plotting and chatting involved a lot of the time. It really was quite time-consuming, and I admit that other things - other fandom activities and also, like, sleep - fell by the wayside to make room for NA.

As for RL people knowing about NA - my RL best friend, my little sister, and my grandma all know about NA. My grandma probably doesn't actually understand the concept of LJ, but she knows I'm in a Harry Potter game wherein my friends and I role-play the HP characters online. My grandma and I are pretty close so I've mentioned it a lot to her.

frozen_jelly @ August 11 2004, 01:16:59 UTC

I don't have any really in depth questions for you but i wanted to say a big THANK YOU! for all your work on NA, as one of the central characters, Hermione played a big role in making NA what is was I think and I enjoyed every minute. (Especially the Ernie-ness!)

On that note, how did the Cluedo scenario come about? It brought back memories for me of long days of endless Cluedo with friends, wonderful!

When you had to hand-write notes as Hermione did you use your own handwriting or did you find your writing became more as she would write? (Like, very neat and regular)

Did the 'journal project' premise for NA cause Hermione to become friends with anyone unexpected, who she wouldn't have cause to spend time with or interact with on a regular basis??

<3 to you :)

a_player @ August 11 2004, 03:24:59 UTC

Oh, thank you!

I'm pretty sure the Cluedo scenario came about while Ernie's player and I were chatting. We both spent ages playing Cluedo on our computers afterwards, too!

I used my own handwriting for Hermione's, although I tried to make it look more like hers than mine. I really don't have very neat cursive but I did try.

Hermione definitely got to know Ernie and Lisa better through the journal project. It's hard to imagine her being friends with them without it!

saltroseortopaz @ August 11 2004, 08:52:38 UTC

Hi! I'm making this up as I go along because I don't really have a question (things I was curious about have already been answered), but wanted to say something ANYHOWS.

Well, while I'm here -- THANK YOU FOR BEING SUCH AN AWESOME HERMIONE. Weirdly (for me, who generally gets sick of canon about five seconds after I've read it), I'm a fan of Canon!Hermione, and I usually don't much like Hermiones in RPs (I can name only two out of all the RPs I've seen or been involved in that I can really even stand), so I was really quite surprised to find I liked your Hermione a lot. (Yeah, am shameless fangirl who started out really only reading Narcissa and Pansy, gradually branched out) (And will also admit, liked Hermione a whole lot more after Hermione/Ernie started -- omgotpbaby)

OKAY, question, because I feel all obliged and stuff.

So, in NA!Canon, Hermione just had Ron and Ernie? (Er, not both at once, although that conjures up some interesting mental images) If you could've had her romantically linked to any other character in the game, which one would it have been...?

Oh, and! When I read this line in Ernie's journal, "Then I had some tender comfort sex." I just about died laughing (and it was among the things me and Laura quoted madly at each other as NA wound down)...how'd Hermione feel about Ernie's little TMI?

a_player @ August 11 2004, 10:41:21 UTC

Hi! Thank you very much - I'm a great fan of Ernie/Hermione too, as you can imagine, so I'm glad that you like it too and that it made you like Hermione more. She did mellow out a bit!

Yes, in NA Hermione was only romantically linked to Ron and Ernie. I'm a fan of all sorts of Hermione pairings, so, provided interest was there on both players' parts, I would have enjoyed a lot of pairings - if they worked out well, that is. I imagine if teacher/student relationships had been something we'd wanted to have in the game, that would have been a good possibility, because Hermione's such a teacher's pet! I can imagine her with Snape, Lupin, and even McGonagall. Probably not Sirius, as he has a bit of a wandering eye.

Hermione, I imagine, by that point, probably didn't mind Ernie's TMIing it all that much; for some reason she was always fine with letting him get away with much more than she'd ever let Ron get away with. She and Ron nitpicked and fought so much, and with Ernie it was definitely a different story. I imagine he was just about that TMI-ish in real life, too, so she might have gotten used to it and seen that Ernie never meant anything by it.

Also, she probably enjoyed the tender comfort sex, too, even if she'd not say so directly to the school.

saltroseortopaz @ August 11 2004, 10:52:25 UTC

You are officially my second-favourite-person in the whole wide world as of now. (...In that, I think the whole teacher/student thing and Snape, Lupin or McGonagall...all v. awesome and shiny and suchlike. Tra la la worthy, even. Aha, I think I've managed to insert at least three various gags/in-jokes into this one paragraph, although I suppose it's less funny if the other person doesn't see two of them)

I liked the Ernie/Hermione relationship, much better than I've ever liked any sort of Ron/Hermione...Ernie seemed like he was sort of good for Hermione...mellowing, like you said? Relax, man, style of fing. Very awesome. [thought the TMI was very cute]
Ernie/Hermione is my second favourite NA!OTP 'ship. [sage nod]

saltroseortopaz @ August 11 2004, 10:54:29 UTC

(agh. psh. either OTP or 'ship is entirely redundant, though I've forgotten which one isn't meant to be there. ><)

a_player @ August 11 2004, 11:07:51 UTC

Might I ask your first favourite NA OTP?

saltroseortopaz @ August 11 2004, 20:16:39 UTC

[shifty-eyes] Weeeeeeell...

_{Pansy and Millicent were SO more than met the eye}!!!!

hezzabeth @ August 11 2004, 11:23:25 UTC

Ok first I'd like to say that I love your Hermione and I always thought she was portrayed in an excellant matter.
Here is my question, when Hermione botched the potion and released her secret desires (was that what the potion did?) what did she end up doing? besides going out drinking on Halloween?

a_player @ August 11 2004, 12:55:43 UTC

Thanks very much!

That's a good question as it it involves so much off-journal stuff. The potion basically dulled inhibitions. This combined with the fact that she wasn't Head Girl allowed Hermione to let her hair down a little more. She sort of blew off the journals a bit, didn't do her homework until the last minute (still got high marks, of course!), little things like that. Hermione's still not a wild child even with her hair down, so drinking was probably the most out-of-character thing she did.

hardlyacting @ August 12 2004, 05:28:38 UTC <3!

I think what I love so much about Hermione, and forgive me if this has been said before, is that she is so *real*. I would see her posts and her comments and see her development as a character and then I think... I *know* people like her. So, yeah, I'd just like to say "woohoo" to you for that. YOu made a character that I'm not even crazy about into this person that I could imagine myself being friends with, because in way, I already was.

Wah, I dunno if any of that made sense, but there is LOTS OF LOVE IN IT!

Ooo and a question: Was there any particular off-journal interaction that you really loved that you could share with us?

a_player @ August 12 2004, 14:00:38 UTC Re: <3!

Thank you very, very much! Lots of love back, here. :D

I would love to share a lot of off-journal interaction with you, because I very much so love it all, and am particularly fond of Trio interaction. I've looked through chat logs and such just now to try and pick something, and it was really difficult. As it is, this bit I've chosen is only part of a much longer conversation between Harry and Hermione that I really enjoy. It took place after Malfoy put Lavender in the Hospital Wing by pushing her down. It's pleasantly plotty, I think! I'll have to post it in two comments because it's rather longish even for a bit.


justharryreally: Was the year of the goblin reign of terror 1242 or 1424?
tricky_sort: 1242. Are you going to try and talk to him again? He does seem to listen to you.
justharryreally: About the stuff he said to Fred and Mrs Weasley? He said it wasn't the point. Because HE has a problem and that's more important, like it always is, like the stuff he said doesn't matter. He probably has a hangnail.
tricky_sort: :-? He has a problem?
justharryreally: Yeah, and the last time he had a problem it was - *stops and looks appalled* - wasn't really a problem or important.
tricky_sort: *has that intense look of concentration* So d'you think he's just crying wolf? He knows he did something pretty unforgivable and now he's saying there's a problem just to get you to forgive him?
justharryreally: Yeah. Exactly. I don't know if he thinks he did anything unforgivable though. I think he just knows I'm pissed off. He - he threw some stuff at me that I said, like he was saying it so I would say it was fine. I wish Lavender wasn't in hospital. Then I could be mad without feeling so bad about it.
tricky_sort: *frowns thoughtfully* What are you most angry about?
justharryreally: Well I mean angry at Lavender. *looks embarrassed* I'm not really. I mean not a lot or anything. It just makes me feel worse though.
tricky_sort: Of course. Sorry... I feel like it's quite nosy of me to ask. I suppose because it's Malfoy and I feel like he's standing behind you telling me to keep my nose out, or something. *awkwardly* I'm sorry things aren't going well, I wish they were.
justharryreally: No, it's fine. No one really asks. :| There's just Malfoy to talk to. So that makes no one really. I feel like I'm responsible for everything he says to the Weasleys and I feel like Ron must hate me for it. -.-
tricky_sort: ... No, I'm really sure he doesn't. I don't think anyone views you as responsible for Malfoy's actions, he's always been - that way. I think Ron mostly cares if you're happy.
justharryreally: *horrified* Well I hope he doesn't care about that now! Maybe we should do something. I guess we'll have to have Malfoy killed.
tricky_sort: Well, I think I've got to at least hit him, unless I want to tell Dean otherwise. -.-
justharryreally: That's okay. Maybe you can hit him in one of those spots that kill people if you hit them there.
tricky_sort: Well, I do have a red belt in Jujitsu, but I'd rather not show that off in public. Perhaps an incapacitating Vulcan nerve pinch.
justharryreally: :)) I'm sorry about him, anyway. *writes crap on essay*
tricky_sort: Oh, he doesn't bother me that much, but not for lack of trying. He is rather persistent. You know, I hope Ron remembered about this essay. I'm sure Binns would give him an extension, though.
justharryreally: I sent him and Ginny their homework but I don't know if they had time to do it. I hope they'd have extensions though.
tricky_sort: I'm sure they would. I think Ron is seeing Professor McGonagall about something, it's probably about extensions.
justharryreally: Yeah, I don't know what that was about either. I feel weird about them coming back. :/
tricky_sort: Me, too. :\ N.E.W.T.s are coming up soon and I don't want to put any pressure on Ron, but I don't think he's very prepared and I'm sure he's even less prepared after this... *sighs* And there's also the Quidditch match coming up, isn't there? Are Ron and Ginny going to be all right to play?

a_player @ August 12 2004, 14:01:20 UTC Re: <3!

justharryreally: I don't know. I hope so but I don't want to ask and Evan probably doesn't either. I just feel weird being around them. Like it would have been okay if they'd come back with us but now they were at home a week and so it seems weirder. I don't really know what to say. *puts quill aside*
tricky_sort: Ron hasn't said very much. It's so strange to see him silent -- *jumps a bit as Crookshanks abruptly hops up into her lap, having wandered from the dorms; pets him* I don't know what to say, either. To go about business as usual seems rude, but to try and talk to him about any of it seems awful, too.
justharryreally: *eyes Crookshanks* I guess business as usual. Except this IS business as usual. I mean should I tell him I think his brother's involved in this? That's not really going to work.
tricky_sort: *shakes head firmly* No. I don't think we can say anything about that, at least right now. *absently strokes Crookshanks* But I do wish there was a way we could keep an eye on Percy.
justharryreally: I told Remus about how Percy had those keys. Draco saw him with them too, in Hogsmeade once. He said they were skeleton keys. Remus said it was interesting. I think Crookshanks is staring at me.
tricky_sort: *glances down at Crookshanks* He might want to sit on you instead. He does like you. *tries to heft Crookshanks up and onto Harry's lap* Does Pr - Remus think it's interesting because he thinks it's silly or because he thinks it's viable?
justharryreally: I don't know, he said it mysteriously. Which doesn't make much sense, I brought it up in the first place, but fine. *pats Crookshanks stiffly*
tricky_sort: *rubs Crookshanks behind the ear before sitting back again* Well, it would be nice to have someone else see what we see.
justharryreally: Yeah, right now we just look like jerks though. *picks up someone's Gobstones and rolls one back and forth between hands* He didn't go to Ginny's birthday.
tricky_sort: *darkly* I know, and he hardly showed up at all to see Fred and Charlie. Penny was there instead, looking vaguely guilty all the while for Percy's sake.
justharryreally: Why wouldn't you go to your sister's birthday? Especially now. He kept leaving St Mungo's to go to the Ministry. I wasn't really thinking about it then because so much other stuff was going on and I felt weird talking to anyone anyway.
tricky_sort: Well, Ginny noticed. She told me she wished Percy would stay, that it was like half the family was gone. I wish he would have stayed around even for his parents' sake. How could you not stay with your family? It's awful.
justharryreally: I don't even know if Mr and Mrs Weasley noticed. I don't even know if they noticed we were there. At least not Mrs Weasley. :|! There's no way to see what Percy's doing at all though. No one even sees him except Fudge and Penelope.
tricky_sort: You'd think the Ministry would tell him to take time off, but no, not Fudge, he can't live without Percy, it seems. :-L Taking him to Malfoy's party and everything!
justharryreally: Yeah but why would Fudge even need Percy at the Malfoys'?

ex_lev195 @ August 12 2004, 16:02:50 UTC <3 <3

Thank you for letting us see some Hermione/Harry off-journal interaction!

a_player @ August 12 2004, 18:16:45 UTC Re: <3 <3

Thanks for reading it, and for the comment!

hardlyacting @ August 12 2004, 19:19:28 UTC Re: <3!

Wheeeeeeeee thank you soooo muuuuuch for letting us in on that! I love seeing 'behind the scenes' type things. It really fleshes out the story, I think. :D

Anonymous @ August 12 2004, 15:14:17 UTC

On nraged there's an RPG Player poll that has to do with readers. If you as a player (a_player?) could say something to us readers what would it be?

a_player @ August 12 2004, 17:57:15 UTC

To be honest, I'm really not sure how exactly to answer this question. Looking at that post makes me see that every RPG with an audience or a fan/watcher community goes through issues similar to what I went through about having an audience. It can be difficult when you're no one's favourite character, or when readers think your character is in the wrong, or even when you are a really popular character and your character's actions are always misinterpreted by the very audience that loves the character.

I think I even thought a couple of times, This must be how JKR feels. I want to, of course, say thank you for so devotedly following and unabashedly loving NA, but there were also frustrations brought on by having a fan community that made the game difficult to enjoy as a player sometimes - for me, I mean, and if the game were still going, I would want to say things like, "Please remember we're only human and will make typos once in a while! Please remember that there are human beings behind these characters, with lives and feelings of their own."

But truly, it's mostly the former! The latter aren't as important to me now that I am not playing in front of an audience with sharp eyes, and I don't want to come off sounding unappreciative of having an audience at all.

Anonymous @ August 12 2004, 17:10:31 UTC

How did Hermione feel about Hannah? It was pretty clear she was bitter over Hermione and Ernie's relationship. Did Hermione react to that or did she just ignore it for the most part?

I love Hermione by the way :D I'm so glad she become more active again before the game ended!

a_player @ August 12 2004, 18:01:58 UTC

Hohoho! Oh, Hannah. Hermione both sort of disliked Hannah in the way that any girl might naturally wrinkle her nose a bit at her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend and was also sort of secretly pleased to perhaps be an object of jealousy. (If Hannah was, indeed, jealous or bitter - you'll have to ask her player.) But she remained cordial as possible to Hannah on the journals and ignored it if she could.

I have to mention that it was not Hermione that turned Hannah into a chair during the LYNW potions dungeon curse-fest, or however it came to be known. I really wish it had been, though; Hermione was actually downright amused by it.

Thanks very much! And thanks for the questions!

Anonymous @ August 12 2004, 18:41:40 UTC

Hi, I hope I didn't miss the deadline! Is there anyone else in NA you wanted to play? Or is there anyone else you really played?

a_player @ August 12 2004, 19:03:08 UTC

Nope, you sure didn't! I think we'll all be happy to answer questions as long as anyone has them.

I always sort of wanted to be a Slytherin, but I am pretty much the most un-Slytherin sort of person possible, and wouldn't have known what to do anyway! But I absolutely love Goyle and Crabbe, in canon as well as in NA, so I'd have liked to have been one or the other if the opportunity had presented itself. I probably could have managed that type!

That said, I did take on dual roles in NA. I hope you will understand if I don't say more than that! Even in confirming, I feel as if I'm destroying a bit of the magic.

Anonymous @ August 13 2004, 07:12:29 UTC

No prob, I understand. Thanks. :)

Anonymous @ August 12 2004, 23:32:16 UTC

Your current music is awfully clever.

I have nothing to ask right now, but I just wanted to tell you how wonderful you were, as though you haven't heard it enough by now. I used to not be able to stand Hermione, but missgranger actually made me like her a lot more. So thank you! You were great.

a_player @ August 13 2004, 03:46:47 UTC

Hahaha. I thought so. Or at least a cross between clever and awfully dorky.

Thank you very much, seriously! I don't think one can ever hear things like that enough. <3

Anonymous @ August 13 2004, 10:27:23 UTC

Hello! I have a question!

What sort of clothes does your Hermione wear? I am very curious! Does she have any sort of idea of what is fashionable and what is not? Does she CARE?

a_player @ August 13 2004, 11:49:54 UTC

This is such an interesting question! I'm sort of tickled to get to answer it. Hermione wears Muggle clothes, of course, and while she may note what's fashionable, she's a lot more classic. Jeans and skirts and nice sweaters in soft colours, and Mary Janes for school of course, but trainers outside of class. She's probably just a very normal-looking mix of film!SS and film!PoA Hermione. No rainbow belts, but I don't see why she couldn't wear a pink sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. I think all girls care whether they look nice or not, but it's not a huge priority for her.

greenanddying @ August 16 2004, 06:30:18 UTC

Hey, Hermione's player! First of all, I just want to say that you were brilliant. :-)

My first question is: what is Hermione's favorite book -- Muggle and non-Muggle?

Secondly, how is Hermione's relationship with her parents? I always felt that she might feel a bit alienated from them, and they from her, what with her being the only witch in the family.

And lastly: how did you and the other players feel when Nocturne Alley became such a hit? Did it happen gradually or overnight? (I've only been following N_A for about a year, so I'm not familiar with the project's growth.)

Thanks for answering all these questions from us. :-) I'm a big fan!

a_player @ August 16 2004, 16:21:43 UTC

Hello there! Thanks a tonne! :D

It really is difficult to select a favourite book of both types for Hermione because such an avid reader, she's bound to have a lot of favourites. She had a good thread with Professor Lupin once on books, which is here, and that should answer the Muggle part of it. As for magical books, I think Hermione favours them informative and rich in history, such as Hogwarts, A History (though I wouldn't go so far as to say that's her very favourite).

Hermione's parents I have a soft spot for, as they did get a bit of personality in my head thought NA. She is sort of like their oddball daughter, and they're proud of her but still very wary of and confused by the wizarding world. When you're not a part of it, it just seems that much stranger and more threatening. I think Hermione's father, though, has a bit of an eccentric, idea-prone side himself, and that Hermione's likely her father's girl. Mrs Granger, in my head, has more of a sensible logic about her, and in that sense Mr and Mrs Granger are a bit yin and yang, though not overwhelmingly so. But yes, I'm sure there was a certain degree of alienation, as Hermione is different than they are, and I imagine the gap grew somewhat every year.

And as for that last question, I can't answer for everyone, because we all felt differently about it, but I can say how I felt. It seemed like it happened gradually, because we were playing for about a year before we grew aware of any audience watching, and before nraged was created, but it also did seem to become sort of a popular thing to watch all of a sudden. Nraged is both a flattering and frustrating beast, to me, because when NA did become popular and got a watcher community, the game changed. Probably for the better in most ways, but I know it stressed and frightened the heck out of me for a while. So when it did become a hit, it was like the spotlight was on and I was hit with a case of stage fright. Another reason for silence from Hermione! :)

Thanks for these great questions, they were very thoughtful.

digitalmeowmix2 @ August 16 2004, 17:32:19 UTC

infinite love!

did you and Ron and Harrys players try to focus on the trio!love, and was there trio!love between the players?

a_player @ August 18 2004, 12:15:32 UTC

What a cute icon you have.

We three trio players never focused overwhelmingly on trio!love in the game, because there were so many points where they were all involved in their own separate plots with different characters, but there was certainly trio!love between us as players and we would all say, Oh, I love the trio! :((

digitalmeowmix2 @ August 19 2004, 01:42:35 UTC

double thank you!

Anonymous @ August 16 2004, 20:42:14 UTC

Do you play Hermione in any other games, and if so, do you find it hard to keep the two different Hermiones different if you just have one strong picture of Hermione in your head? Or do you play it so they're basically the same character in different situations? I guess this goes for any other character you might play in multiple RPGs too.

a_player @ August 18 2004, 12:25:38 UTC

I'll answer this hypothetically!

If you play a character in an RPG, especially for a long time, then I think a lot of your characterisation is built upon events and other characters in the game, so they become very much their own version of the character and could not be transplanted from game to game and be the same. I write a lot of fanfic and I don't write Hermione in fics very similarly to how I played her in NA, and if I played Hermione in another game I don't think she'd be similar to missgranger except in perhaps just some of my own personal writing idiosyncrasies. Either way, I just can't imagine playing two different versions of Hermione or any other character at the same time. It doesn't sound all that fun to me.

saffronlie @ August 21 2004, 13:34:22 UTC

Hey, I thought of this in the shower the other day, and I don't believe it's been asked, and I also hope that if you notice it you want to answer it, as I can understand not wanting to reveal some parts of the game. Now after that dreadful introduction, did Hermione get her Apparation license when she went for it? I seem to remember a sly dig from Pansy or Millicent, and I don't think it was mentioned overtly in the game. But then again, I could be amnesiac.

a_player @ August 24 2004, 05:16:20 UTC

Hi! Sorry I've taken so long to reply!

Hermione did not get her Apparation license the first time she went for it. It was one in a series of little failures for her! I don't know where her head was. She did go back another time and get it, though, but never said anything about the whole ordeal because she was too prideful, basically. Thanks for the question!

tabiji @ September 23 2004, 10:38:14 UTC

<3 to you for still answering these!

I've got another question, that I'm asking all of you:

For the NA t-shirts, what are your favorite quotes from your own character, and any other NA characters?

Thankyou!